Nick Mason : Answers Fans Questions In The New Edition Of Uncut Magazine
Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason is the latest musician to face a grilling by the readers in the new issue of Uncut.
In a candid and wide-ranging chat, he discusses his soon-to-be re-released solo projects, producing The Damned, what’s in the Pink Floyd archives, and the formation of his new ‘early Floyd’ band Saucerful Of Secrets
“What I didn’t really want to do was go out as another version of Pink Floyd and play the best of Dark Side and so on,” says Mason. “All this other material was there, lying dormant, and could be interpreted in a slightly different way… No, I didn’t ask [Roger Waters and David Gilmour] to join in, because that would be Pink Floyd. But I did tell them what I was proposing to do, as good manners, and I have to say both of them were supportive – which I found slightly disturbing! ‘Yeah, go ahead, make a fool of yourself…’ I know David has looked at a lot of it online.”
Asked if there’s anything left in the Pink Floyd vault, Mason replies: “Not much! I think there’s a re-release of Animals planned – it’s a record that would benefit from remastering. After many years of Abbey Road and Air Studios, this was done on a much more funky level, in our own studio. So it perhaps lacked a bit of that sharpness and sparkle you get from Abbey Road.”
Another reader wonders why Pink Floyd snubbed Stanley Kubrick when he asked to use some of “Atom Heart Mother” in A Clockwork Orange. “Probably because he wouldn’t let us do anything for 2001,” says Mason. “It sounds a bit petulant! I don’t remember whether he did ask for something from Atom Heart Mother. We’d have loved to have got involved with 2001 – we thought it was exactly the sort of thing we should be doing the soundtrack for.”
Naturally the questioning eventually turns to the subject of potential Floyd reunions. “You’re asking the wrong person!” claims Mason, although he refused to rule anything out. “I saw a quote where someone said, ‘On my tombstone it’ll say: I’m still not sure it’s quite over…”
The October 2018 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – with Jimi Hendrix on the cover. Elsewhere in the issue, you’ll find exclusive features on Spiritualized, Aretha Franklin, Richard Thompson, Soft Cell, Pink Floyd, Candi Staton, Garcia Peoples, Beach Boys, Mudhoney, Big Red Machine and many more. Our free CD showcases 15 tracks of this month’s best new music, including Beak>, Low, Christine And The Queens, Marissa Nadler and Eric Bachman.